About Me

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Ahh, Sen. and Presidential candidate Grace Poe wants us to pay for more expensive
electricity from intermittent, unstable power sources. Must be upon the
prodding of her ecological socialist adviser Tony la Vina, among other reasons. One
more reason I won't vote for her then.

She's dependent on mostly the Ateneo group. While Ciel Habito
makes sense in economics, Tony la Vina is clearly socialist and central planner -- in some instances in the past, he posted things praising socialism and forced equality -- in energy and environment policy, can be her DENR Sec. if she wins.

Meanwhile, people should walk their talk. If they love
solar and wind, then they should do it on their own, pay for the high price,
NOT coerce, force, arm-twist everyone else to subsidize expensive power via higher monthly electricity bills.
This renewables coercion and dictatorship will make our already "2nd most
expensive electricity prices in Asia" (next to Japan) to become even more
expensive -- via FIT, RPS, mandatory dispatch to the grid.

If we have to follow renewables coercion, that we should
embrace wind, solar, biomass asap, we should have massive, large-scale black
out in the whole Luzon grid. Data from DOE as of mid-2015. ACTUAL electricity
output from wind, solar, biomass in Luzon was only 1%. At Meralco franchise
area, those renewables' share is zero, nada.

So if people love their 24/7 electricity, they will
realize that mandatory, forcible, coercive renewables is NOT the answer.

Grace Poe wants huge, energy-intensive manufacturing
companies to be located in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia,
create tens of thousands of high-skilled jobs there, then they can export to
the PH at zero tariff anyway.

The largest solar farm
in Southeast Asia so far is in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, my hometown. Rated capacity about 132 MW. This means... more expensive electricity for Negros and the Visayas
grid. Coal and natural gas can give us electricity at P4-5/kWh
(sometimes less than P4), zero electricity uncertainty. Solar automatic
P9+/kWh, and very erratic. Zero output for 12 hours at night, bet 1% to 65%
capacity factor at day time. I recognize though the job creation + real estate
taxes contribution of that solar farm in Cadiz.

But if people want more industrial zones, more
manufacturing plants, more hotels in Cadiz and Negros, they need coal and
natural gas, not solar or wind. With or without the Sun, with or without the
wind, the elevators, lights and air-con in hotels and industrial parks must
run, 24/7.

Among the other Presidentiables, they all seem to be supporting more renewables, but I was surprised to read that Rodrigo Duterte is openly and explicitly supporting coal. He even lambasted the UN and Al Gore hypocrisy in forcing renewables in developing countries like the Philippines.